An attempt at documenting the life of a metro-Vancouver vegan from the food I eat to pictures of cute cats.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Smoothies: A How-to

Smoothies are an art. I never actually measure how much of anything I put in, but they always turn out perfect. I was prompted to post this after a friend seemed confused as to how I make my smoothies lol, but fear not! I will save you.

There is no need for ice, because I use frozen berries, even in the summertime I buy fresh berries and freeze them in portion sizes because then you don't need ice. And as we all know, most blenders don't grind ice all the way so you always end up with gritty and icy bits in your otherwise perfect smoothie.

So, how do I make my smoothies? Seems basic, but I'll tell you anyways.

Unless I am out of greens I always make a green smoothie. Why? Because you don't taste the greens at all, and what better way to sneak in nutrients which I otherwise would not be getting? I've read you should aim for 60% fruit and 40% greens, I think I'm pretty close to this.

Generally I use 2 handfuls of greens (spinach and kale are my favourites, and if I have any on hand I throw in a few sprigs of parsley). 1 banana. A dumpful of frozen berries and 2 tbsp's or so of ground flax seed. This is what it generally looks like:

The liquid part is where most people screw up, too little and it's too thick and doesn't blend. So you end up having to add more and more liquid until you get the perfect amount, which inevitably ends up being too much liquid...so it turns into water consistency, not rich and thick like a smoothie should be. Today I didn't have orange juice, so I just used all soy milk (it doesn't matter really, OJ just adds some sweetness). I usually fill up to the top of the greens (and ALWAYS put your greens on the bottom, or this throws off the proportions!!!), half with OJ and half with soy milk (or another alternative milk..rice, hemp, almond etc...). This is what it should look like:

Then blend it and it should look pretty and pink like this:

My smoothie always makes 3 cups worth, which doesn't sound like a lot...but it really is. This picture gives you a sense of how much smoothie it makes:

Why so much? Well, it fills me up for a really long time, gives me great energy and gives me 4-5 servings of fruit/veggies plus calcium and other great stuff.

Here is the soy milk I use, just because. I think I mentioned in a previous post why this is my favourite, but basically it's really tasty, non-GMO, organic and local:

As far as fruit goes, anything goes, really. I generally buy whatever berry mix is on sale. I like using berries because they are stronger flavours than other fruits, and have many antioxidants and other good things. Plus, the make a pretty colour. Sometimes I buy a "tropical" blend, the taste is still awesome but if you are into appetizing colours...definitely go with berry varieties.

I'm obsessed with the Bee Gee's lately.

Now, I have found, that the world is round. And, of course, it rains everyday.

1 comment:

ohhhh, I like this post. I always attempt to make smoothies, but mine are always missing something. like they're either bland, or too thick/runny, or something like that. Plus I broke my blender blending some ice for a daquiri! oops, I need a new one now!

About Me

I'm currently a student at Simon Fraser University majoring in Criminology and Humanities. When I graduate I am hoping to get into either policing or corrections. I live with my three cats and boyfriend and dream of living on a small farm in the countryside.